Liquid-fuel-burning apparatus



June 17, 192

F. v. HADLEY ET AL l I a June 17 1 924.

F. V. HADLEY ET AL LIQUID FUEL BURIjING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 4 I Fig. l.

Fig. 5.

Inventors.

Frederi Hadley Stan Barnab John. OKs-Clarke ch V. ley

Patented June 17, 1924..

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FREDERICK V. HADLEY, OF NEEDHAIVI, STANLEY BARNABY, F AUBURNDALE, AND JOHN O. CLARKE, OF FOREST HILLS, MASSACHUSETTS. i

LIQUID-FUEL-BURNING APPARATUS.

Application filed April 4, 1921.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, FREDERICK V. HAD- LEY, STANLEY BARNABY, and JOHN O. CLARKE, all citizens of the United States,

residents of Needham, county of Norfolk, of Auburndale, county of Hiddlesex, and of Forest Hills, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, respectively, have invented an Improvement in Liquid-Fuel-Burning Apparatus, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to improvements in liquid heating apparatuses for furnaces and other devices and the present embodiment of the invention illustrates the application of the invention to a liquid fuel burning furnace.

()neof the objects of the invention is to provide a liquid heater with means for pre heating liquid delivered to a nozzle by means of heat from the furnace which otherwise would be wasted.

A further object of the invention is to provide a liquid heating apparatus having means for preheating the liquid delivered to a nozzle with regulating means located in advance of the preheating means and with- 30 out any obstruction between the pre-heating means and the nozzle which would tend to increase the pressure of the liquid if the latter should become excessively hot and, therefore, subject to considerable expansion or vaporization. In other words, an object of the invention is to provide a liquid controlling means so located in respect to the pre-heating means that the liquid will have free egress from the nozzle if undue expansion or vaporization takes place in the preheating means.

A further object of the invention is to provide a liquid heating apparatus having .means for pro-heating the liquid with a by pass leading from the main fuel supply to a Serial No. 458,605.

the nozzl so that the character of the flame issuing from the nozzle may be accurately regulated.

Burners for liquid fuel burning furnaces are usually provided with means for supplying a gaseous fluid under pressure, such as compressed air or steam, and are so constructed that the gaseous'fluid under pressure is caused to atomize or vaporize the fuel issuing from the fuel'supplying nozzle of th burner. A further object of the invention is to provide means for preheating or super-heating the gaseous fluid under pressure thus supplied from heat from the furnace which otherwise would be wasted.

Preferably the pre-heating means for the liquid fuel and also for the gaseous fluid under pressure comprise sections of conduits for the fuel and fluid under pressure respec tively located within the wallor walls of the furnace so that the liquid fuel and the gaseous fluid under pressure each receive heat which otherwise would be conducted through the wall or walls of the furnace and be wasted. As it is desirable that the gaseous fluid under pressure shall be heated to a higher temperature than the liquid fuel the chamber or chambers which contain the conduit for the gaseous fluid under pressure may be located more closely adjacent the in ner face of the furnace wall than is the chamber which contains the conduit for the liquid fuel. 1

Other objects and features of the invention will more fully appear from the following description and the annexed drawings and will be particularly pointed out in the accompanying claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a front elevation of the lower portion of the front of a water tube boiler showing the invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on line 2-2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of afurnace having a plurality of burners illustrating the invention applied thereto;

Fig. 4. is a front elevation of a horizontal return tubular boiler illustrating the invention applied thereto and in which means are provided for heating or super-heating the gaseous fluid under pressure which is supplied to the burner; and,

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the same, a portion of the furnace wall being broken such as a B'abcock and YViIcoX boiler as ordinarily constructed for the use of coal or other solid fuel, but supplied with a liquid fuel burner.

As illustrated'in the accompanying drawings the furnace comprises a front wall 1 havingrthe usual doors 2 for feeding solid fuel into thetfurnace; and the usual ash pit doors 3 which are located below the grate 4 (see'F-i'g.-2-).

The'front wall 1 is provided at its upper e'ndaw'itha:shoulderedportion 5 which protects theheader 6 of the usual water tubes 7 In the.:-construotion ilustrated the front wall-of thefire box is provided with a chamber8 which. is located at such distance from the inner facet) of the furnace wall that substantially the right amount of heat may be reeeived by said. chamber to pre-heat the liquid fuel to adesired degree.

The'liquid fuel is supplied to the furnace thjrough a main conduit 10 leading from a suitable'supply which may extend in front of t'heyseveralboilers forming a battery. Means are: provided for supplying the burnersofv each of the boilers from this maint conduit. As illustrated herein a T connection 11 from the main supply 10 leads to .a-branch pipe 12 which is connected by suitablexelbows 13 and 14 to a heating section or conduit 15 which desirably extends Ill'lcSlIlllOUSfOlClS back and forth and downwardly through. the chamber 8, the lower end-'offsaidsection being connected by suitable elbows lfi, 17 and 18 to a pipe 19 having a'branch 20 leading to the burner. A check val-ve21 desirably is-located in the pipe 19 to preventany backward flow of the liquid fuel. The burner 22 may be of any suitable characteradapted to. atomize or vaporize the liquidj fuel and as illustrated herein in a pip 23ffor gaseous'fiuid under pressure, such asisteam or compressed air, is shown leading to the burner head and surrounding the oil delivery pipe of the burner which may/be; of {a-: usual type in which the fluid under pressure impingesupon the oil in the burneror as the 011 issues therefrom.

It will beobserved that by reason of the construction shown the liquid fuel will be heatedrduring its passage through the heatingsection: of' the conduit which is located in the chamberl8 by the heat of the furnace which;ipassesthrough the'inside portion of thegwall tlc As this heattwould otherwise be wasted: noadditiional expense is incurred lay-reason of the-installation: of this heating sectiom QfEthG' conduit-f As'before stated the chamber;8 may be located at anydesired distance from the inneriwagll of, the.furnacegvhich;,Will give the proper amount of heat to the liquid fuel. For oil burning furnaces it has been found expedient to locate the heating chamber at a distance from nine to twelve inches from the inner face 9 of the wall. but the distance may, of course, be varied in accordance with the particular furnace in which the heating system is to be installed. Liliewise the area of the chamber and the length of the conduit subjected to the heating means may be varied in accordance with the pmiticular requirements of the furnace A further feature of the invention consists in providing mains for regulating the supply of fuel to the burner which will avoid the possibility of back pressure toward the fuel supply or bursting of the eonduit. In the present invention this is accomphshed by providing a regulating means such as a *alve 2 L located in advance of the heating section of the fuel conduit leading to the burner. The valve 2-1: may be provided with a suitable operating handle 25 within convenient reach of the fireman. The regulating means EH is the only regulating means for controlling the amount of heated fuel supplied to the burner so that there is no obstruction to the flow of fuel toward the burner between said regulating means and the nozzle of the burner. Hence any expansion of the fuel or vaporization thereof which may occur in the heating section 15 leading to the burner will be relieved by reason of the free egress of the liquid from the nozzle of the burner.

Under some circumstances it is desirable that the fuel shall be fed directly from the conduit to the burner. In order to provide, for such contingency a by-pass is provided which, as illustrated herein. comprises a pipe 26 leading from the conduit 10 in advance of the regulating valve 2 1 to the pipe 20 which leads to the burner. One or more regulating valves 27 and 28 may be provided in the bypass in order that the low of liquid through the same may he conveniently controlled. By reason of this construction it is possible to introduce cool liquid fuel with the heated liquid fuel int 0 the burner'in case that which is heated becomes too hot. Furthermore, the valves of the bypass 26 may be opened if for any reason the nozzle becomes clogged to relieve the excess pressurejdue to expansion of the liquid fuel in theheating section 15. This however, is a remote if not impossible contingency.

If desired the conduit for the gaseous fluid under pressure may also comprise a heating section which may be located in the same or another chamber within the wall of the furnace as willhereinafter be more fully described in connection with the low pressure type of boiler in which this invention may be embodied.

The present invention may be equally well applied to furnaces requiring a plurality of burners. As illustrated in Fig. 3 a furnace 29 is illustrated which is provided with a plurality, for example three burners. The main fuel conduit 30 is provided with an upwardly extending trunk 31 leading to a header 32 from which heat ing sections 33,34; and 35 lead respectively to burners 36, 37 and 38. The heating sections 33, 34 and 35 are desirably located in chambers in the wall of the furnace similar to the chamber 8 above described. By-passes 39, 4:0 and 41 also lead to these respective burners and are controlled. by suitable valves 42, 43 and 44. The supply of liquid fuel to the heating sections 33, 34 and 35 is controlled respectively by valves 45, 4:6 and 47 so that each of the burners may be independently-controlled either in respect to the heated or the cool fuel supplied to them and it will be noted that in each instance the valve which controls the supply of heated fuel to the burner is located in advance of the heating section through which the fuel is delivered to the burner.

Any suitable means may be provided for supplylng the burners with gaseous fluid under pressure, such as compressed air or steam. As illustrated herein it comprises a conduit 48 which if desired may have a heating section 49 located within the wall of the furnace and leading to the burners.

In Figsd and 5 the invention is illustrated as applied to a horizontal return tubular type of boiler in which relatively low pressure steam is generated. The construction disclosed herein comprises a fire boxhaving side walls 50 and 51 and a front wall 52 having the usual fire door 53, ash pit door 54 and smoke box doors 55 which are located in front of the end of the boiler 56 which is illustrated in dotted lines.

In order to adapt a liquid fuel burner to this type of furnace it is usually desirable to remove the grate and to carry the liquid fuel burner head into the fire boX in a plane at least as low as the former position of the grate.

In the construction illustrated in these figures the side walls 50 and 51 are provided with chambers 57 and 58 to receive the sections of the conduits for the liquid fueland for the fluid under pressure respectively. As shown herein the liquid fuel is supplied through a main conduit 59 and is carried through a pipe 60 to a heating section 61 which is located within the chamber 57. The conduit 61 extends through the front wall 52 and communicates with a pipe 62 leading to the burner 63. The supply of fluid is controlled by regulating means, such as a valve 64 located in advance of the heat- :ing section 61 in which the liquid fuel is heated so that in this construction, as in the one previously described, no obstruction is present between the regulating means 6st and the nozzle of the burner.

In low pressure boilers of this type the steam, which is ordinarily used to vaporize fuel, is not super-heated and consequently is wet. It is, therefore, desirable to provide means for super-heatingthe steam in order that it may be introduced into the burner in a dry state. As illustrated herein the steam is supplied from the boiler through a conduit 65 which is provided. with a branch 66 leading to a heating section 67 which is located in the chamber 58 in the wall of the furnace. The section 67 delivers the heated steam through a pipe 68 to a pipe 69 which leads to the burner 63. Suitable regulating means such as a valve 7O desirably is' provided in the pipe 66 intermediate of the main steam conduit 65 and the heating section 67. A by-pass '71 may also be provided between the main conduit 65 and the pipe 69 which leads to the burner and suitable regulating means such as a valve 72 may be employed to govern the steam passing through the by-pass.

It will be noted that in the construction illustrated in Fig. 4 the chamber 57 which contains the section 61 of the conduit for the liquid fuel is located at a greater distance from the inner face of the wall 50 than the chamber 58 which contains the heating section of the steam, pipe is located from the face of the wall 51. By reason of this construction the amount of heat received by the chamber 57 may be such as to heat the fuel properly while by reason of its nearer proximity to the inner face of the wall the heating section 57 of the steam pipe is exposed to a sufficiently higher temperature to super-heat the steam. The positions of the heating chambers may. of course, be varied in accordance with the demands of the burner and the conditions of radiation of thewalls of the furnace.

By reason of the illustration of two distinct types of furnaces herein to which the invention is applied it will be readily understood that the invention may be adapted to other types of furnaces for steam boilers or for any other purposes. It will also be observed that the heating chambers for the liquid fuel and for the gaseous fluid under pressure are illustrated herein as located in different walls of the furnace and it will be readily appreciated that the heating chambers may also be located in other positions without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention which contemplates the lo cation of the heating section of the fuel supplying conduits and of the conduits which supply gaseous fluid under pressure in any desirable place in which said heating sections will receive heat from the fire box or furnace which otherwise would be wasted.

J Itwilhtherefore, beun'de'rstood that the embodiments ofI-the invention "disclosed herein are illustrative and not restrictive and that various'modifications in form, construction li andlocation "of parts may be'made, and

"thatthemeans for pre-heating'liquid supplie'd to' a nozzle by means of the heat from the furnace, which otherwise would be "waste'd, may be used 'forvarious other pur- 'rposes than iniconnection with liquid fuel bu'rning furnaces within the spirit and 'scope -'of the following claims;

Having thus described our invention, what we claim :as new, and desire to se 'cu'reby Letters Patent, is: x

:1. A liquid fuel burning furnace com- "prisinga firebox having a chamber'within oneof its walls, a fuel burner having an outer-"conduita-nd means for supplying a Y agaseous fluid under pressure thereto and an *in'nerffuel supplying-conduit leading to said burner having a heating section'located in said chamberadapted-to absorb heat which otherwise would be Wasted by conduction through-saidwalland'means for regulating the supply of fuel to'said'burner located in advance of said heating section only, whereibylthere "will be 1 noimpediment to the-expansion of the liquid fuel 'in the' heating section or to the free 'flow of said liquid fuel to said burner.

1 2. A liquid fuel: burning furnace comprislli'ng 'aifirebox having a chamber withinone of lits walls, a fuel'burnerha'ving'an outer conduit and' means 'for supplying a'gaseous fiuid'under pressure thereto and an inner fuel supplying conduit leading to said burner "having'aheating sect-ion located in said *cha'mber ada'pted =to aabsorb heat which otherwise wouldbe'wasted by conduction through said-wall; means for regulating the 'supply of fuel 'to said burner located in :iadvance' ofsaidheating section only where- "by 'there w-ill no impedimenfitothe expan- 45 sion of the liquid fuel in the. :heating' section :or to the freeffiow of said liquid "fuel to said burner and? aby-pass leading to said burner connected to said conduit in advance 'of said regulating means whereby unheated liquid fuel may also be supplied to said iduit and said gaseous fluid conduit located respectively only in advance of said heating sections of said conduits, whereby the heated liquid fuel and gaseous fluid under pressure may expand freely in passing to said nozzle.

4. A liquid fuel burning furnace comprising a fire box having a plurality of cham berswithin its side walls, a liquid supplying conduit having a heating section located in one of said chambers, a conduit for gaseous fluid under pressure having a heating sec tion located in another of said chambers and "aburner head havingconcentric nozzles connected respectively with said conduits and operable to atomize the liquid fuel,

'the chamber containing said gaseous fluid conduit-being located nearer the inner face of the furnace wall than the chamber containingthe-liquid fuel conduit and regulating means in said liquid fuel conduit and said gaseous fluid conduit located respectively only in advance of the heating sections of said conduits, whereby the heated liquid fuel and gaseous fluid under pressure may expand freely in passing to said nozzle.

In testimony whereof, we havesigned our names to this specification.

FREDERICK V. HADLEY.

STANLEY BARNABY. JOHN O. CLARKE. 

